Issues
by LuvFiction Xxxx
Summary: Jerome Clarke has Issues. Abandonment, trust, emotional, friendship, family issues. He never speaks to anyone. He just bottles it up, who can help him release all the frustration he has toward his family? What happens when his mum want's to get back in contact? who can he trust to be his friend? (Drama, Family, Friendship, Romance)
1. Chapter 1

Jerome Clarke is a problem child.

He has family issues, abandonment issues, emotional issues. He learned to hide what he was feeling and never let anyone think of you as weak or pathetic.

He grew up without love, you need love to grow, he had Trudy but it wasn't the same. He craved to get love from his mother, but she would barely look toward him, and when Poppy came along all the love he wanted so much went towards her and he hated that, it's why he hated the idea of her coming to the same school as him. Poppy was the favorite, that was clear as day.

It's why his mum sent him to boarding school at five, why have a useless trouble making kid when you have the perfect little angel sleeping slightly in her cot?

That's what Poppy was called 'Mummy's little angel.'

Jerome wanted desperately to be something for his mum, he wanted to be more than a brat.

Jerome never understood why his mum hated him so much. It was so difficult trying to understand why she had left him at Anubis house.

He would see his mum at summers or school holiday's, he would also see Poppy. He saw her grow, he saw her school tests with 100% in a place of honor on the fridge.

Jerome would try so hard to match those grades. Jerome is a smart guy. He just didn't want to be thought as a nerd or a geek, people think he's stupid because he has an attitude and behavioral problems, but he gets 98% and 100% except math when the alphabet decided to get involved he barely passes with 53% he can't grasp algebra and because of that his mum resents him.

Anything he can't do right his mum hates him for. She shouldn't have been recognised as his mum, as far as Jerome was concerned he didn't have a mum, he didn't have a dad, he didn't have a sister. He was alone, he was lonely but he would never show it, and he would never say it.

He presented himself as cold and heartless so no one would ever want to get close to him, so no one would find out that even though he was the oldest, the first-born, he was considered the runt of the litter the weak helpless one, the one that everyone would agree he was better off dead.

yup Jerome Clarke is a problem child.

* * *

Jerome sat staring at the board blankly.

report cards were on the way and he needed to get a good percent in math to do what he always wanted, impress his mother.

but to do that he had to understand algebra.

The information just floated through one ear and out the other, he just couldn't get it.

The bell rang signaling that they were free to go and the teachers couldn't make them suffer any longer.

Jerome quickly packed his stuff into his bag. He sat in the back row so he was normally last to get out.

He walk towards the door when someone called his name. He turned to see Mara, the only person that made math bearable.

"Hey Mara" Jerome said as he waited at the door "What's up?" He said as she walked up beside him.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to walk home together?"

"Yeah I'd love..." Jerome stopped talking when the teacher called his name.

"Mr Clarke can I speak to you?" The math teacher asked not really giving him a choice.

Jerome walked over to the desk and watched as Mara smiled shyly before walking back to Anubis house.

"Yes sir" Jerome said turning his attention to the teacher.

"What do you see here, Jerome?" The teacher asked as he held up a piece of paper.

"Um...a line graph, sir" Jerome said as he saw the line graph, it was steady until one point where it dropped suddenly then continued to climb.

"What is it a line graph of?" The teacher asked.

"I don't know sir" Jerome snapped, it was Friday and he was taking up his time discussing graphs.

"This is a line graph of your progress" Mr Matheson said"And I'm disappointed, Jerome, very disappointed" Mr Matheson shook his head "Ask me why"

"Why are you disappointed?" Jerome sighed.

"Because of this drop right here, it's hard to miss" Mr Matheson started at it "You're doing good right up to this section."

"I just can't do algebra, sir" Jerome explained.

"I can see that, that's why I'm going to help you" The teacher leaned back in his chair.

"How?"

"I can't help you one to one in class so I'm going to assign you a tutor" Mr Matheson smiled as he wrote the name on the paper, ripped it off the notebook, folded it and gave it to Jerome "You start now, I wrote all the information on where and when to go so on you go, you don't want to be late for your first tutoring lesson, do you?" Mr Matheson said as he pushed Jerome out the classroom and closed the door before he could argue.

Jerome un-folded the paper and read the name.

_Mara Jeffrey, Anubis house, 4:00pm_

Maybe the tutoring won't be as bad as he thought, as he walked to his new algebra teacher.

This should be interesting.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

Jerome was smiling all the way to Anubis house, Mara Jaffray was his tutor, Mara Jaffray the girl he had a crush on since he saw her.

Jerome ran up the steps to Anubis house and looked at his watch as he walked in. It was 3:50, he had 10 minutes to get ready for his study _date_ with Mara.

Jerome walked into his room and saw Alfie playing some game.

"Hey dude what took you so long?" He asked not taking his eyes off the game in his hands.

"Got kept behind" Jerome replied as he began to chance.

Jerome changed from his school uniform into a red top with a black waist coat and blue jeans, he fixed/styled his hair, before taking his math books and getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Alfie asked as he paused his game and sat up.

"Mara's going to help me with my math work" Jerome said as he put his books into his bag.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

"I meant good luck for Mara, you stink at maths" Alfie laughed and Jerome threw a pillow at him.

"I'll have you know I'm great at Math, It's Algebra I can't do" Jerome said slinging his bag over his shoulder "I mean, who the heck decided to put letters with numbers?"

"Haha, well have fun" Alfie said as he un-paused his game and lay back on the bed.

* * *

Jerome knocked on Mara's door at exactly 4:00 and waited for her to open the door.

"Jerome? what are you doing here? I'm expecting someone" Mara said as Jerome leaned against the door frame.

"Would this someone be an extremely handsome guy who is horrible at algebra and needs help from a beautiful girl, such as yourself?" Jerome smiled "Hi, I'm Jerome Clarke and I'll be your student for today" Jerome smirked as he took hold of Mara's hand and shook it.

"You're my student?" Mara asked dumbly.

"Yes I am, may I come in?" Jerome asked. Mara nodded slowly before moving aside to let Jerome in.

* * *

Mara had gone over it for over an hour now, and Jerome was still not getting it, he was normally quick to understand things, but not this.

Jerome was now on the floor banging his head with his math book.

"Jerome come on you can do this" Mara encouraged him.

"No I can't" Jerome sighed "It's too hard."

"Tried one more problem before we call it a night" Mara said turning the page and reading the problem out "okay, 2x-4=10 solve for x."

"I don't know" Jerome moaned.

"Okay how about I go through it step by step?" Mara said joining Jerome on the floor "Here" Mara said handing Jerome a pen.

Jerome took it and got ready to write in his math jotter "I still don't think I can do it."

"Can you add?" Mara asked.

"Yes" Jerome answered.

"Can you divide?"

"Yes, adding subtracting, dividing and multiplying, it's all easy" Jerome said becoming very frustrated.

"Well that's what algebra is" Mara explained.

"What?" Jerome asked raising an eyebrow.

"Let me show you and easier way for you to understand" Mara said "The first part, for this problem you add 4 to both sides of the equation, what do you get?" Mara asked hoping she was explaining it well.

"14" Jerome replied without needing to think hard, his brain was like a calculator, he could add and subtract in a blink of an eye.

"Yes. 2x=14" Mara smiled "Now the next part, all you do is divide both sides by 2, and you get?..."

"7" Jerome smiled.

"YES! so what you write at the end is?..."

"X=7?" Jerome half smiled not sure whether he did it right or not.

"YES, YES, YES you brilliant person" Mara squealed in delight as she kissed his cheek "2(7) - 4 = 14 - 4 = 10 do you understand now?"

"Yea, it's easy!" Jerome smiled "I can't believe it clicked, who knew algebra could be so easy?"

"Yea and it only took you about 2 hours to get it to click" Mara said as she sat back up on the bed.

"Don't ruin my happy moment" Jerome warned with a smile "Do you want to call it a night?" Jerome asked sitting on the bed with her.

"I think I might have to" Mara smiled as she rubbed her eyes "I'm so tired" Mara yawned as she sat up beside Jerome "But I must say well done, when I found out I was tutoring you, I didn't think you were going to take it seriously, you proved me wrong" Mara smiled.

Jerome smiled to before leaning in, Mara looked confused at first and didn't know what to do, without thinking she pulled away and stood up shocked. Jerome sat there feeling weak, pathetic, embarrassed,he felt emotions he never felt before, he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as they sat/stood there in an awkward silence, before Mara broke it.

"I think you should leave" She said not looking him in the eye.

"I'm sorry" Jerome explained as he gathered his books quickly, he was so embarrassed, he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, "I'm really, really sorry" Jerome apologized as he ran out the door. He was in such as rush to get out he didn't notice he left his algebra book behind.

Mara shut the door tight and sighed. She wanted to kiss Jerome, she wanted to kiss him so much, but she was afraid, and she pulled away,and now she wished she hadn't.

* * *

Jerome ran into his room and collapsed on the bed.

"So how did it go?" Alfie asked.

His answer was another pillow to the face.

"That bad?"

"No worse" Jerome sighed sitting up "I think I might have ruined my chance to be with Mara, and in the process destroyed our friendship within three seconds."

"That's a new record for you" Alfie joked trying to lighten the mood, in result he was hit by another pillow.

* * *

**OK so all that algebra math junk, if you're sitting at home reading this and you say "That's not the correct answer" You're probably right, because I Stink at Math. so don't hate me If I did the math wrong :/**

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